Photographer's Note

View from a decorative window - Mausoleum and Mosque of Hammouda Pacha
(I took the photo of a business house's roof)

The Mausoleum of Hammouda Pacha in Tunis is a square building with a green-tiled pyramidal roof (1665). Adjoining is the Mosque of Hammouda Pacha (c. 1665), which has an octagonal minaret in Syrian style, one of the finest minarets in Tunis.

The mosque was built between 1654 and 1655 by Hammuda (Muhammed) Pasha (d. 1696), who succeeded his father as the Ottoman governor of Tunisia in 1631 and left his post to his son in 1662. It is located inside a walled courtyard at the southeast corner of Sidi ben Arus and Kasbah streets. A tomb was added within the precinct between 1685 and 1686 for the founder and his family. The architect of the ensemble is Muhammed Nigro of Cordoba.

The mosque is aligned with the two streets and with qibla, along the northwest-southeast axis. The rectangular prayer hall is accessed through a narrow courtyard that envelops it on three sides, except for qibla, to the southeast. Three portals -- a main portal facing northwest on Kasbah street, a side portal facing northeast and a third portal at the eastern corner -- lead into the courtyard, which is raised several steps from the street level to even out the natural slope of the site. A large part of the courtyard is shaded by the portico that wraps the prayer hall, which is mirrored along the northeast courtyard wall to delineate an overflow prayer area with an outdoor mihrab. Both the arcade and the portico feature columns with a variety of capitals carrying horseshoe and round arches.

The prayer hall is entered from through seven iron doors set in archways. Of the three portals on the main façade, the central entrance is distinguished with a black and white marble arch set inside a frame of interlocking hexagons. Inside, the hypostyle prayer hall is seven bays wide and five bays deep and measures 26.5 by 16.5 meters. It is roofed with six trough vaults and a central barrel vault that terminate at the qibla aisle, which is crowned with a raised dome above the mihrab, flanked by two transverse trough vaults and corner cross-vaults. Its horseshoe arches are carried on twenty four free-standing and twenty engaged marble columns with identical capitals bearing volutes and crescent motifs.

Tunis

Tunis (Arabic: تونس‎, Tūnis) is the capital of the Tunisian Republic and also the Tunis Governorate, with a population of 1,200,000 in 2008. It is Tunisia's largest city.
Situated on a large Mediterranean gulf, (the Gulf of Tunis), behind the Lake of Tunis and the port of La Goulette (Halq al Wadi), the city extends along the coastal plain and the hills that surround it. At the centre of more modern development (colonial era and post) lies the old medina. Beyond this section lie the suburbs of Carthage, La Marsa, and Sidi Bou Said.
The medina is found at the centre of the city: a dense agglomeration of alleys and covered passages, full of intense scents and colours, boisterous and active trade, a surfeit of goods on offer ranging from leather to plastic, tin to the finest filigree, tourist souvenirs to the works of tiny crafts-shops.
As the capital city of the country Tunis is the center of Tunisian commercial activity, as well as focus of political and administrative life in the country. The expansion of the Tunisian economy in the last decades is reflected in the booming development of the outer city where one can see clearly the social challenges brought about by rapid modernization in Tunisia. (Source: planetware & tunisguide & wikipedia)

Hi George,i had the same idea when i was there..and what a beauiful result! A natural border whit a typicals colors of tunisian architechture,excellent sharpness and colors as usual,thanks for share,have a nice day,LUCIANO

Hello George!
This one is truly wonderful!
Sharpness, exposure, dof, vertical format and pov are all excellent and the composition is magnificent: effective and quite attractive! Those architectural details are so interesting and beautiful!
TFS - congratulations!
My warmest regards,
Neyvan

Hello George,
The mosaic covered archway makes a wonderful and colourful frame for the traditional architecture in the background. I like the light and colours and the excellently rendered detail. The wrought iron blue railing is a nice bonus.

Hi George,
a nice frame through we can see the minaret of Mosque of Hammouda Pacha.I like the decorative window,the clarity and the sharpness of the scene,as your idea to capture the shot with this great POV.Informative your note as well.

Hello George,
Beautiful composition which has the advantage of showing the architecture and the facing typiqement Islamic of the walls. Very good clearness on all the plans. One great depth and beautiful sober colors. Cheer.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

I'll agree with the others, that this is the best in the series so far. The angled pov on the arch lifts this one above the usual front on pov, that most photographers are content with. Plus the arch itself is very colourful, with interesting repetition of geometric patterns & shapes, & is well lit. The backdrop is also quite good. Tfs!

Hello Georg,
A wonderful view of the Islamic tiling art together with a fine view on the mosque and the city with some pleasant details like the antennaes.
Perhaps you could have cropped the blue railing which does not really contribute to the scene and has a colour which does not fit well ?
Regards,
Paul

Hi George! One of your best photos from Tunisia A frame in frame!Beautiful composition which has the advantage of showing the decoration and excellent characteristic architecture Wonderful natural POV and good level. Good details
compliments

Beautiful use of this decorative window to agreeably bring us to this minaret emphasized well under this splendid blue sky. Tunisia really abounds in superb places. Pretty and interesting composition, thank you George.